The Actor Chain Game

Years ago I came up with a fun association game that I call "The Actor Chain Game". This game is similar to 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon , but I have been playing my version longer than that game has been around. I guess that's just another case of me not taking advantage of my ideas in a timely manner. You play by taking two different actors and then trying to create a link of actors who have worked with each other until you can make a connection to the second one. Let me show you how it's done. Let's try to link Julie Andrews and Arnold Schwarzennegar. I don't believe they have been in any movies together despite working in such similar genres. (Yes that was sarcasm)

Julie Andrews is in The Sound of Music with Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer is in A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe is in Gladiator with Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix is in Signs with Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson is in What Women Want with Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt is in Twister with Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton is in True Lies with Arnold Schwarzennegar

This particular combination took 8 steps but there are a ton of different directions it can go. Doing this is kind of like my Rain Man talent. The other day someone asked me to do this and I ended up doing a chain of about 30 people to make the connection and was later embarrassed after when I realized I could have done it in 3 steps.

If you do this as a game with teams, the object is to do it as fast as you can and in as few steps as possible. If you ever get in a bind try to link someone to Michael Caine, James Earl Jones, or Christopher Lee since they are such prolific actors and have connections to almost every other actor. Try this game at your next party. It can be a blast if you are a movie buff and know a lot of actors, but if your guests don't, it can be awkward and difficult for them. Kind of like me at a physics convention at MIT.